Central versus local authority
What Central versus local authority means in History A-Level, as defined for Pearson Edexcel.
Definitions of Central versus local authority
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Reference: Pearson Edexcel
Tudor monarchs ruled without a standing army or police, so they relied on regional councils, nobles, JPs and lords lieutenant to project authority across England and Wales.
A lack of strong central control meant local elites, kirk sessions and noblemen could pursue accusations with little oversight, producing uneven but intense outbreaks.
Topics that use Central versus local authority
- Paper 3, Option 33: The witch craze in Britain, Europe and North America, c1580–c1750 - 1 The North Berwick witches in Scotland, 1590–91 and the aftermath to 1597 (Pearson Edexcel A-Level)
- State control and popular resistance, 1509–88 (Pearson Edexcel A-Level)
Related terms
- Agnes Sampson
- Coercion and consent in Tudor rule
- Government intelligence and repression
- Judicial procedures and torture
- Local versus national responses to poverty
- Popular rebellion and elite leadership
- Religious and regional grievance
- Royal influence and intellectual justification
Using Central versus local authority in the exam
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